The Cabinet of Stevenage Borough Council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, to discuss a range of topics, including proposed changes to fees and charges for 2026/27, an annual update on the council's climate change strategy, and a new rent setting and service charge policy. The meeting will also cover updates on regeneration programmes, land development projects, and the council's wholly owned companies.

Fees and Charges 2026/27

The cabinet will be asked to consider proposed fees and charges for the financial year 2026/27, affecting both the General Fund (GF) and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The report pack notes that fees and charges are reviewed annually, with changes to the General Fund taking effect from January 2026 and changes to the Housing Revenue Account being implemented from April 2026.

The report pack highlights the importance of fees and charges as part of the council's financial strategy:

Fees and Charges represent a vital component of the Council's financial strategy. It is essential that charges are set prudently to ensure cost recovery, while also being fair, transparent, and applied consistently across services.

The report pack includes details of proposed fees for off-street parking, on-street parking, highways and engineers, garages, indoor markets, bulky waste, trade refuse, skips, cemeteries, allotments, fishing, and planning. It also includes equality impact assessments for the proposed changes.

The report pack also mentions the Spending Review 2025, which outlines the government's fiscal plans through to 2028/29, and the Fair Funding review, which resets councils' finances. It notes that the Medium Term Financial Strategy has assumed a level of increased fee income for 2026/27 and that there is a Balancing the Budget savings target of £350K-£400K thereafter.

The report pack also notes that the 2025 Stevenage Residents Survey showed that residents prefer increasing fees and charges to reducing services or increasing council tax.

The report pack also mentions the possibility of in-year revisions to planning fees and charges following royal assent of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

The report pack also includes details of proposed fees for outdoor seating licences, which support local businesses by allowing them to place tables and chairs outside their premises. It notes that these fees have remained stagnant for the past seven years, and that a benchmarking exercise has been undertaken to examine the pricing structures and policies adopted by other local authorities.

The report pack also includes details of a proposed pilot of a fast-track planning application service, which would guarantee that applications are determined prior to the statutory guidelines, in return for an additional fee.

Taxi Tariffs

The cabinet will be asked to consider a proposal to increase fees and charges relating to taxi and private hire licensing. The report pack says that the aim is to ensure that the fees set by the council remain fair, transparent and proportionate to the cost of administering the licensing service.

The report pack notes that the Licensing Team committed to doing a full review of the taxi licensing fees and charges in December 2024, following a period of over 15 years without a formal review. The findings of the review indicate that the current fee structure does not fully recover the costs of delivering the Taxi Licensing service.

The report pack also notes that government guidance is that taxi and private hire licensing should not operate at a cost to the wider taxpayer, and that fees should be set at a level that fully recovers the cost of administering the service, without generating a profit.

The report pack includes details of proposed fees for PH operator licence applications, Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicles, Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers Licence, Enhanced DBS check, English language test, and knowledge test.

The report pack also mentions a subsidised licence fee for electric and hybrid vehicles, to encourage vehicle owners to transition to cleaner fuel alternatives. The Council sought guidance from the Climate Action Team, who proposed a two-tier discount structure for Zero and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs).

The report pack also includes a summary of responses to a public consultation on the proposed revisions to taxi and private hire licensing fees and charges, which was held between 7th July and 4th August 2025.

The report pack notes that a total of 41 responses were received during the public consultation, primarily from Stevenage-licensed drivers, with additional input from operators, vehicle licence holders, and trade representatives. It also notes that 68% of respondents identified as being from ethnic minority backgrounds, predominantly Asian-British, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi.

The report pack says that the key themes raised in the consultation included economic hardship, impact on livelihoods, fairness and equity, and suggestions for scaling back proposed fee increases and phasing in changes gradually.

Climate Change Strategy Annual Update 2025

The cabinet will be asked to consider the annual summary of actions taken, and progress made, on the eight strategic themes set out in Stevenage's 2020 Climate Change Strategy¹. The report pack also highlights action being taken by the council at county level through the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership (HCCSP) and the work being undertaken at neighbourhood and individual level to drive behavioural change across the town.

The report pack notes that Stevenage recorded its lowest historical GHG emissions in 2023, delivering a 7.2% decrease from 2022 levels, and 22.6% lower than in the baseline year (2018). It also notes that Stevenage's per capita emissions in 2023 were lower than county, regional, and national averages.

The report pack mentions that in February 2024, the council launched the Stevenage Action Plan Tracker on the Kausal platform, to support effective delivery of the strategy and action plan.

The report pack also includes details of action being taken across the eight strategic themes of the climate change strategy:

• Businesses: The council supports local businesses, particularly micro businesses and SMEs, on actions towards net-zero. Since 2022, the council has funded 200 Gold Memberships for Wenta's Action Zero Programme, and the UKSPF-funded Sustainable Business Programme has provided workshops and consultancy for Carbon Reduction Plans. In 2024, the council launched the Stevenage Green Business Grant, offering £70,000 to support SMEs and charities in reducing energy use, water consumption, waste, and emissions. The council is also embedding sustainability in procurement through its updated Social Value TOMs framework and the new Co-operative Procurement Strategy (2025-2028).
• Homes: The council is committed to achieving at least EPC Band C on all 8,000 council homes by 2030. Through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1, 240 of the least efficient homes are being retrofitted with a fabric-first approach. In 2025, the council secured £3.9m from Warm Homes Social Housing (WHSH) to upgrade 379 homes by 2029. Other schemes, including the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) and Energy Company Obligation (ECO4), have extended support to private households. The council also secured £1.5m through the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG) to retrofit 100 low-income private homes. The partial review of the Local Plan is strengthening policies for sustainable, low- and zero-carbon homes, energy efficiency, and climate resilience.
• Construction and Regeneration: The council's regeneration plans are rooted in delivering sustainable, climate-resilient buildings and spaces. The new all-electric Sports and Leisure Centre, due for completion in late 2027, will replace two of the council's most energy-intensive facilities with an efficient, low-carbon building powered by solar panels, heat pumps, and smart energy systems. Other projects include the new low-carbon Public Services Hub and the relocation of the Indoor Market to an all-electric site at Boston House.
• Waste and Recycling: The council continues to work through the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership (HWP) on campaigns and long-term strategies for waste reduction and recycling. Since mid-2024, new waste treatment contracts have supported the 2030 zero-landfill target via mandatory use of EfW facilities, and the council has also upgraded neighbourhood recycling banks. A key constraint on improving Stevenage's currently relatively low recycling rate is being proactively addressed via new solutions to introduce recycling facilities at new difficult to access flat blocks and preparing the council for the 2026 mandate requiring separate weekly residential food waste collection.
• People: A Staff Climate Champions Group has been established to drive engagement, awareness, and behavioural change. In 2024/25, regular knowledge-sharing sessions and new sub-groups were launched, focusing on sustainable events and greener workplaces. Staff engagement has also been strengthened through Carbon Literacy Training. In parallel, the council updated its Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), which now identifies 46 risks across five sectors and two climate scenarios, embedding adaptation and resilience into service planning.
• Biodiversity: The council is committed to protecting and enhancing natural spaces, including a commitment to planting over 4,000 trees by 2030, currently being supported by annual plantation of around 100 individual mature trees, the Your Tree, Our Future scheme, and the new highly successful Miyawaki micro-woods. A 2024 i-Tree Canopy assessment found Stevenage's overall canopy cover to be healthy at 22%, though uneven across wards. The council is also reviewing its tree replacement policies for new developments and has recently adopted a Trees & Woodland Strategy, a Green Spaces Strategy, and a Biodiversity Action Plan, long-term management frameworks supporting biodiversity enhancement. The council is also delivering and monitoring Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) works.
• Transport: The council aims to decarbonise its fleet by 2030. In October 2024, the entire diesel fleet switched to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), cutting net emissions by 84%, while new electric vans are being procured as part of the fleet replacement schedule. Active travel is also being promoted through the Cycle Hire Scheme with Beryl Bikes, launched in 2024, comprising 45 bays and 150 e-bikes, alongside dedicated staff incentives/benefits. Infrastructure upgrades include new cycle hangars and additional EV charging points funded through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme. The council has also introduced a new taxi licensing policy with reduced fees for low-emission vehicles, supporting the wider transition to cleaner transport.
• Energy and Water: Since 2022, the council has procured all corporate electricity under a zero-carbon tariff and continues to monitor usage across 27 sites through Grid Edge digital meters. Energy upgrades have been delivered across leisure facilities under the Everyone Active contract, the pool cover at the Swimming Centre, LED replacements at the Town Centre Clocktower, and lighting upgrades at St George's and Westgate MSCPs, plus Daneshill House. The council has appointed Telex Water to improve monitoring, leakage detection, and data quality, while the Local Plan review reinforce water efficiency and management policies.

Rent Setting and Service Charge Policy 2025/27

The cabinet will be asked to consider a new Rent Setting and Service Charge Policy for 2025-2027. The report pack notes that it is good practice to regularly review policies relating to housing management.

The report pack says that the proposed policy outlines the council's position on dealing with rent and service charge setting across all its stock, and that the purpose of the policy is to ensure that Stevenage Borough Council:

• Adheres to government legislation when setting rents and service charges
• Ensures that charges remain affordable to tenants whilst supporting long-term financial viability of the HRA
• Applies rent setting practices in line with the national Rent Standard
• Enables transparency and fairness in rent and service charge calculations
• Provides tenants with clear and timely communication and statutory notice
• Promotes equality, accessibility and value for money

The report pack notes that the council currently has over 6900 tenancies below formula rent and it is projected that it will take over 14 years based on a £1 per week increase for rents to be fully converged.

The report pack also notes that the HRA is reliant on rent and service charge income from tenants and leaseholders to provide appropriate housing management services and to meet the regulatory requirements of the service, and that the HRA must be financially viable and hold reserves and cannot run on a deficit.

The report pack says that the proposed policy will support the council in maintaining compliance with both current and emerging legislation, including the Rent Standard, Social Housing Regulation Act, and revised Consumer Standards, and will enable the continued delivery of new housing and statutory services.

The report pack also notes that the proposed policy will allow consistency of approach to the Rent Setting and Service Charge process and ensure that changes are implemented effectively.

The report pack says that the proposed policy changes are projected to increase HRA balances by £2.75 million over the duration of the current Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), making a substantial contribution towards the savings required to maintain the stability and long-term viability of the HRA.

The report pack also includes an Equalities Impact Assessment, which notes that while there are some negative impacts, there are valid mitigations in place to protect future tenants.